The Anti-Rogaine: Cria Addresses Hair Loss With Health And Wellness In Mind

There’s no shame in hair loss, according to Shubhra Sharma, co-owner of Cria Hair and a former gender studies professor, but there’s no shame in doing something about it from a wellness perspective either.

“We don’t say we grow hair. We create hair by empowering the body to do what it does best. If it’s good, it’s going to do good for your body,” she explains. “Once you apply Cria onto your scalp, you’re letting it in. [Cria] isn’t just energizing your follicles. It’s going inside [your body] and removing toxins as waste.”

The recipe for Cria’s first product, Hair & Scalp Booster, has been in Sharma’s family for over twenty years and is now available through the brand’s e-commerce website. Sharma’s mother, Vijay Lakshmi, a homeopathic doctor, cared for a myriad of patients experiencing hair loss, but Sharma says her mom “never felt comfortable recommending anything on the market because of the chemical overload in most hair loss products.”

Sharma’s father, G. Krsna Sharma, an engineer and biologist, collaborated with her mother on what’s become Hair & Scalp Booster’s formula composed of essential oils and herbs. Sharma, who was associate director of Vanderbilt University’s women’s and gender studies department, serendipitously discovered the formula in her father’s diary four years ago, and set about to bottle it.

“We don’t say we grow hair. We create hair by empowering the body to do what it does best. If it’s good, it’s going to do good for your body. Once you apply Cria onto your scalp, you’re letting it in. [Cria] isn’t just energizing your follicles. It’s going inside [your body] and removing toxins as waste.”

In July last year, Sharma met with Jeremy Howell, co-owner of Redd’s Barbershop in Austin, Tex., where Cria is located. At first, he was skeptical Hair & Scalp Booster’s natural ingredients would be effective. After trying the product, he was wowed by its performance. He decided to not only carry the product at his barbershop, but that he wanted to invest in the brand and become a co-owner. Cria had been selling on Amazon, but Howell and Sharma together chose to nix the Amazon distribution, and redo the brand’s label, bottle and site. The revamp cost them approximately $50,000.

Sharma likens her relationship with Howell to that of a marriage. She says, “When you’re in a partnership, there will be things that will come up because you have very different working styles. It’s all about the conversation and being really open about what we are both feeling.” Ultimately, Sharma is thrilled with the partnership. She effuses, “He knows hair. He’s a hustler, and somebody who will get the job done. He’s energetic and has really great ideas from writing the perfect marketing email to talking to influencers.”

The key to Cria is its simplicity. The brand’s initial vegan, cruelty- and gluten-free product retails for $49.99 and is created with only four ingredients: sesame seed oil, organic ethanol, lavender oil and jaborandi, an herb indigenous to the Amazon rainforest known for its potency. The brand’s name is an homage to the Amazon rainforest, where the hero ingredient, jaborandi, originates. Cria means “to create.”

“We want to change the whole paradigm on hair loss. For so long, it’s been defined by minoxidil for hair growth, but the stunning side effects are something people need to be aware of.”

In the rebrand, Cria paid particular attention to how consumers apply Hair & Scalp Booster. The brand opted to offer a headband to keep its formula in the right place on the head. The recommended usage is at least three times a week for an hour or more, and overnight usage is highly recommended. The product is aimed at customers suffering from alopecia and hair thinning or loss as well as cancer patients and survivors encountering hair loss as a result of chemotherapy treatments. Cria is considering providing oncology centers samples of its Hair & Scalp Booster.

Sharma and Howell project Cria sales can hit $1 million in the brand’s first year. Wellness stores and apothecaries like Gold Spring Apothecary, C.O. Bigelow and The Detox Market are retail targets in the U.S. Outside the U.S., Sharma points to Japan, Mexico and Canada as distribution possibilities. In terms of product expansion, Cria is developing a travel size of its signature product and an eyebrow roller to foster thick brows. A few other products are on the drawing board for the future, including shampoo, conditioner, beard oil and pet haircare.

Although haircare is a crowded segment, Sharma believes Cria can cut through the noise. She says, “We want to change the whole paradigm on hair loss. For so long, it’s been defined by minoxidil for hair growth, but the stunning side effects are something people need to be aware of.”